This time of the year is when graduating students obtain your final grades after three years of the student life. For those of you who planned to become professionals in your subject, if you have received or are expecting 2:2s or a Third, life doesn’t seem to go according to plan, huh?

IT’S NOT THE END!

Definitely not, especially not to your career or even your academic ambitions.

As an international student studying in a second language, you had to put in twice the effort. Obtaining a job in the UK with a First-class degree is hard enough let alone a third-class. You find that 3 to 4 years of revising in the library, interacting with professors and classmates and a part-time job for work experience was not enough to strengthen your network and score that graduate job.

Very well, this may be the right time for you to make use of your innate abilities, discover new ones and consider rewriting your academic results.

A MASSIVE HOW?

Although your career plans have taken a pause, you can now explore furthering your education. In the UK, a postgraduate Master’s degree takes only 12 to 18 months of study. You are assessed based on your thesis project rather than a year-end exam as you have experienced previously. At the end, you are even more qualified and likely will do better your second time around. What’s one more year after 3 years of studying?

Within the postgraduate option lies two pathways. One, even with a Third-class degree, you can apply directly to select universities. These universities practice exemptions on a case-by-case basis and place higher value on the strength of your non-academic qualities. Two, you can apply to do a Pre-Masters course before progressing on to your postgraduate study. This is for you if you aim to pursue your postgraduate at top UK institutions. Universities collaborate with pathway providers to offer Pre-Masters as short as three months for graduates with a Pass to a Third-class. After the course, you can then progress to a diverse selection of UK universities and postgraduate courses. You can even enter the September intake to graduate with a Masters the same time as your peers.

UKEC presents Plan B, an exclusive green-channel on your applications to partner universities such as Aberystwyth, Coventry, Lincoln and Stirling and pathway providers like Navitas. With Plan B, it only takes around 7 working days from submitting your application to obtaining your CAS. This is a golden opportunity for graduates on a time-crunch in search for the next chapter of life. The September intake for Master’s degrees is still open for applications.

BUT ALSO…

The next concern is the extension of your Tier 4 student visa. Supposedly, you have to resit exams in early August and will only receive your results at the end of August. Or you’ve only confirmed your postgraduate choices and submitted your application in August. Will you obtain your CAS and visa extension in time? Good news, we’ve got you covered!

Let’s say you’re still in the UK and you begin your course in late September. With Plan B, you can obtain your CAS on express. It will state your course start date and last enrollment date. As long as you submit your visa application and supporting documents before the expiry date of your current visa or before the last enrollment date of your course, you can receive your visa extension within 2-3 weeks.

Now if you are in your home country, you will have to go through standard visa processing. Not to worry! As long as you obtain your CAS 2-3 weeks before the last enrolment date, your visa should be processed with sufficient time for you to arrive at university.

The last enrolment date differs across universities but is usually 1-2 weeks after the official course start date and is printed in your CAS. This could be as late as early to mid-October. If you have not yet received your CAS but need to know the last enrolment date, UKEC can contact the university and obtain this information for you.

Your move can change society’s perceptions of the Third-class. It starts with you.

Not sure where to start? Contact us now via international@ukec.com. With our knowledge of the UK Higher Education arena, we will support you all the way to your dream education.

#itsnottheend #applyforMasterswithUKEC